Student senators proposed an amendment with a long list of revisions to the old election code at their meeting Wednesday night.
Last spring, many senators and other Student Government members expressed concerns about what they felt was an “out-of-date” election code.
In one of its last meetings of the spring 2003 semester, the senate voted to form a committee to review and possibly revise the election code.
Senators who proposed the committee in the spring said the revised code will benefit the student body by helping SG elections run more smoothly.
Sen. Heath Hattaway said the committee spent a large amount of its summer working on the code and working out the details of each revision included in the amendment.
The revisions include additional information about the election time frame, the restructuring and rewording of several parts of the 20 page code and a more specific definition of “active campaigning.”
The revisions to the code prohibit candidates from sending unsolicited e-mails to potential voters at any time and sending e-mails specifically requesting votes prior to campaigning.
The revisions also define members of listserves as “willful participants” and allows candidates to send them e-mails concerning their candidacy prior to the active campaigning period, but restricts candidates to only send e-mails soliciting votes after the start of this period.
Another significant revision is the addition of a section about online voting.
If passed, the amendment to the election code will allow eligible students to vote from any computer on University property “excluding residential buildings, cultural centers and their labs.”
The committee also added a section about voter fraud to the end of the election code. Students found guilty of fraud will be subject to punishment through the Office of the Dean of Students.
The Senate’s Committee on Rules will debate and possibly revise the amendment Monday night before it comes up for a Senate vote.
After passing through committee, the amendment must get a two-thirds vote from the Senate to go into effect.
The Senate also voted Wednesday to restructure the legislative office and add a legislative staff, and to change the way election board members are chosen to make them more accountable to the Senate.